for the world slows and the stars falter

[jovahs_heiress]

Isabella sings harmonics - including with Micaiah, once he's learned the mass to performance quality; there's a forty-five minute section in the middle that's perfect for extracting and presenting to the wee hours of the morning at the Eyrie.

She flies on intercessions, and generally brings him along, for rain, to halt a blizzard, to calm a storm, and once she finds a plague flag and puts Micaiah down far away from the settlement while she quizzes the healthier community members about their symptoms. Angels rarely catch the plague; she feels safe enough picking Micaiah up again so he can listen to her sing through the verse designated for each complaint (this for fever, that for cough, the other for the rash) and watch the pills fall to earth. The flag comes down and they continue home.

She keeps half an eye on Nathaniel, and quietly informs Baruch of the situation as well so he'll be mindful of the boy's potential sensitivities.

She falls into an assistant role with Delilah - nothing so formal as the situation she had with Linus, because Isabella would be living at the Eyrie either way, but Delilah sends her to greet visitors and has her take notes at meetings and occasionally even asks her opinion on questions about this or that.

And one morning, Isabella opens her door to leave her quarters and sing a pre-dawn duet with Serah - and the hallway is not there.

"Micaiah," she murmurs.

Comments

[pythbox]

"Kas and Petaal," he says with a reminiscent smile.

[jovahs_heiress]

"Yes, and then them and Amariah and Path all went into the other bedroom while Micaiah napped and indulged themselves with what I'm told is yet a third Sherlock who belongs to a Bell who has not yet been here herself," says Angela. "I didn't feel the need to commit that to paper, but as long as someone present is curious."

[self_composed]

"Ah-huh," says Stella. "You're having some trouble with this, aren't you."

[jovahs_heiress]

"I'm managing," Angela asserts.

[self_composed]

"It says you met Amariah. I haven't run into her yet," comments Stella. "Was she helpful?"

[jovahs_heiress]

"Yes, very. I believe she's going to try to come back with Sherlock's 'Juliet', but I don't know how long to expect that to take."

[pythbox]

Micaiah decides that now is a good time to give his angel a hug.

[jovahs_heiress]

Angela is quite happy to give her mortal a hug right back.

[self_composed]

"Awww," sighs Stella. "...So, do you want some nigh-omnipotence? 'Cause I can give that out."

[jovahs_heiress]

Angela has already thought of this, reading through Shell Bell's notes.

"If Jovah wanted me to have those powers, I would have them already," she says steadily, through the dearest of temptation.

[pythbox]

"...Why's that?" says Micaiah.

[self_composed]

"I am stunned," says Stella. "Are you sure you don't just happen to look like us? I suppose the parents' names would be a bit much of a coincidence..."

[jovahs_heiress]

"I think I'm as much one of you as Amariah is," says Angela. "But my god doesn't work like her goddesses who don't care what she does. I want it, but - we have songs, prayers, already written down to teach us how to ask for everything Jovah is willing to offer. We're born with the capacity to learn, and angels with a few more blessings besides to carry out the god's work. Your magic isn't part of the world he made for us when he carried us away from our ancestor's home full of violence and hatred. If I do not already have these powers, it's because Jovah didn't choose to offer them to me."

[pythbox]

Micaiah frowns in confusion.

"How do you know?"

[jovahs_heiress]

"Jovah watches over us - the descendants of people who wanted to live a simple life without so much leverage over the world around us. We're always told that what was given up was technological, not magical, but the principle is the same, isn't it? Even now there is friction over things as simple as the batteries that Alleluia's husband invented. Just because I don't think I would misuse greater power than I have doesn't mean that it's safe to bring it into the world. I wasn't born with it; it's not intended for me."

[pythbox]

"But you said Yovah can't just do things any old way," he says. "So what if Stella is the right way to give you magic powers, just like singing is the right way to ask for rain and the oracles are the right way to give him people's names?"

[jovahs_heiress]

Angela closes her eyes and considers this.

"If Jovah can hear me here," she says finally, "I'll consider that possibility. Amariah said there is an 'outside'? I don't think he could begrudge me some unnecessary rain or sunshine to see if he watches over here as everywhere."

[self_composed]

"There's an outside. I'll show you. You're going to sing and rain will fall?" Stella asks. "That's an interesting system."

[jovahs_heiress]

"I'm going to sing to ask for - well, rain, if there is none, sun if there is rain, I'll need to see it change to be sure," says Angela, getting up. "Micaiah, do you want to come aloft with me?"

[pythbox]

"Yeah!"

He follows her.

[self_composed]

Stella shows them outside. She flies without the aid of wings. It's not currently raining, or even cloudy.

[jovahs_heiress]

Angela scoops up her Micaiah and takes off, carrying him high up, closer to the ear of the god - if he's here.

She sings, ignoring her floating duplicate and losing herself in the music.

(There is no other sensation to lose herself in. The air isn't... shifting, not even in the little ways it normally does after only the first verse of a prayer.)

[pythbox]

Micaiah snuggles into her arms.

[jovahs_heiress]

Angela sings through the entire song into dead, unresponsive air, then shakes her head and lands. "He's not here. Or not listening. He's not present in the way he'd have to be for me to entertain the idea that Stella's his instrument."

[pythbox]

"Okay," shrugs Micaiah. "I still want magic powers, though."